Gluten-free pumpkin, sweet potato and chestnut gnocchi

With falling temperatures and the coming of the Northern cold wind, the body craves warm, nourishing and comforting foods. Thus I had the idea to combine three of my favorite seasonal foods – pumpkin, sweet potato and chestnut – to make earthy and delicious gnocchi.

Initially, I hoped getting orange-coloured gnocchi. I did not get the desired result in terms of color – my gnocchi were a nice gingerbread brown – but the taste did not disappoint me. To complement this strongly flavoured gnocchi, I chose a simple and quickly made sauce, with subtle sage and white truffle aromas.

Having recently cooked chickpeas, I had in the fridge a little of their cooking water, which is named ‘aquafaba’. This water contains starches, protein and other solid compounds that have migrated from the chickpeas to the water during cooking. Thus, aquafaba has emulsifying, foaming, bonding and gelatinising properties similar to eggs, and can replace them in many sweet and savory recipes.

So I decided to make vegan gnocchi, replacing the egg of the traditional recipe by three tablespoons of aquafaba. If you do not have time to prepare aquagaba yourself, you can use the water from chickpeas can, simply reduce it beforehand on medium heat until syrupy.

For the success of this recipe, it is essential to cook the squash and sweet potatoes in the oven, not to boil them. Indeed, as a significant amount of water is absorbed by the vegetables during boiling, you would get a too sticky dough, which would require a large amount of flour to be added so that you can handle it, resulting in tough and rubbery gnocchi. To ensure your gnocchi are tender, use the smallest amount of flour you can!

Let’s talk about the nutritional values of this recipe. Sweet potato, the main ingredient, is an excellent source of beta carotene, copper, and vitamins B2, B5, B6 and C. It has also a high fiber and antioxidants content. Pumpkin has both a low glycemic index and a high satiating power, so it is ideal to satisfy big appetites. Alkalizing, its beautiful orange color comes from its high beta-carotene content, which the body uses to make vitamin A. Pumpkin also contains manganese, copper and vitamin B2.

Serves 2-3

Gnocchi

350 gr sweet potato

150 gr pumpkin

60 gr chestnut flour

120 gr brown rice flour

3 tbsp aquafaba

1/2 tsp salt

Sauce

50 ml soy cream

50 ml rice cream

12 fresh sage leaves

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp white truffle flavoured olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Peel the squash and sweet potato, coarsly dice them. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 190 ° C.

Mash the pumpkin and sweet potato with a potato ricer or a wire mesh sieve.

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin and sweet potato mash, salt and aquafaba.